Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
by TwistedFan13
Summary: Danny returns to Green Grove, anxious to reunite with Lacey. Homecoming is around the corner and Lacey has already gotten a date, with a new, handsom, and extremely sweet, but muscular jock who has taken Archie's spot on the soccer team. Will Danny try to win her back? Or will he settle for friendship when he thinks she is happier without him?
1. Reunited and it Feels So-- Wait What?

Chapter 1: Reunited and it Feels so- Wait What?

Danny couldn't believe his name was being cleared for the murder of Regina Crane. For months the town, heck even his own mom pinned Danny as the culprit and considering his murderous past and the fact that Regina was spontaneously found dead the day after Danny had returned home from juvie, he could not deny how guilty he must have looked. But there was new evidence, and the murder weapon did not contain Danny's DNA but someone's with similar genetic makeup. Anyway, this murder and all things pertaining to it were no long a concern of his and for that, Danny was relieved.

Finally he would be able to return to school, hopefully without the sociopath label. Danny had been expelled for allegedly poisoning Cole, a former soccer teammate and a friend of his, but it was anonymously brought to the attention of the school board that Danny did not poison Cole and after subsequent investigation, the school board decided to renounce his expulsion.

Danny knew that Cole would believe him about Archie being the one who had poisoned him, but he never expected Cole to defy his soccer captain by turning him in to the principal. It warmed his heart to know how good of a friend Cole was to him. Even when the rest of the team thought Danny was a complete psychopath, Cole had been nothing but kind to him.

Danny had been walking at a strenuous pace until he was near the entrance of Green Grove High School. He shifted nervously. He was pleased with himself for having gotten Lacey off of his mind for as long as he had. Twenty? Thirty minutes? That must be a personal record.

The past two months had been eventful and stressful to say the least, but Danny never ceased to envision Lacey's flawless auburn skin, her silky black hair, beautiful brown eyes and her model-like figure.

How he longed to hold her in his arms. He missed everything about her. The way she was able to read him when tried to deflect his emotions with the humor and charm. She never bought it. He missed the way she completely melted in his arms when he'd kiss her lips. For so long Lacey had tried to deny her feelings for him and he briefly did the same, but there was no denying the magnetic force that drew them to each other. It had been there since they were too young recognize the powerful bond they shared.

Their last interaction was disheartening. Danny replays the memory in his head.

"_I wish you never came back here. I wish I never knew you."_

He knew that in saying this Lacey was only trying to win back her narrow-minded friends, but for some reason he found her words to be sincere. Could she actually feel this way about him? That was the question Danny battled with everyday since he fled town and even since he has made his return. Lacey had called him a few times since then but Danny couldn't bear to answer. Not because he was angry, but because he was hurt, and afraid of what she would say to him. Thinking back, he did resent himself being so stupid, it was a jerk move not to respond to any of her calls. Still, Danny was hopeful that the two of them could talk things through. He thought about Jo too. She had also given Danny the cold shoulder. Danny knew there was not much he could do to mend his friendship with Jo without denying his feelings for Lacey. In the excitement of his returning, Danny had forgotten how complicated his life was.

He took a deep breath as he made his way down the hall. People were still whispering as he walked by just like they did w hen he returned from juvie. Danny hesitated, debating whose locker he would attend first. He looked at one end of hall where Jo was retrieving books for her next class, then at the other end of the hallway where Lacey was puckering her lips to apply lip gloss. Danny walked slowly towards her, anticipating their reunion with ever step. Lacey looked beautiful to him, as she always did. She wore a sleek black blazer with beige blouse. Her skirt was short but she wore stockings beneath, and her long black boots reached just above her knees. As he inched his way near her Lacey, Danny's stomach churned, his heart leaped, his mind raced. How would she receive him? Just as he approached her, Lacey turned the opposite direction where she was embraced by an unfamiliar male presence. Danny stopped. The guy held Lacey's waist and he was saying something to her, which Danny couldn't decipher. He was too embarrassed and disappointed.

Danny stumbled off, bumping slightly into a locker as he fled before being noticed.


	2. A Beautiful Little Fool

Lacey smiled in the company of her - she didn't know what to call him - a friend? Or was he something more? Lacey still couldn't decide. All she knew was that he'd asked her to accompany him at the Homecoming dance and she'd accepted his offer. Things were simple, light, fun; she didn't want to put a label on it just yet. Besides, there was something, Lacey couldn't determine what, that kept her from wanting to enter into any relationship since her boyfriend history consisted mostly of liars and raging jerks.

Lacey heard footsteps behind her and felt the presence of someone who seemed to be begging for her attention, but she turned around to see no one.

She shrugged and turned back to face her male counterpart.

"So I got my dress yesterday," she smiled.

"Really?" I can't wait to see you in it," he flirted, pulling her closer to him.

Lacey, suddenly aware of their near public display of affection, pulled herself from his grasp.

"Okay Justin, I've got to get to class."

He sighed playfully, "Can I get a kiss before you go?"

Lacey leaned in, their lips nearly met, but instead she offered her cheek. Justin tried unsuccessfully to hide his disappointed which caused Lacey to smile.

"Save that for Homecoming." With that, she walked off, headed for class with the hugest grin on her face as she passed the "Vote Lacey Porter Homecoming Queen" posters that decorated the walls. She couldn't believe that just two months ago she ostracized for her hook up with Danny. _Danny, _she thought. Lacey heard that the school board let him back in. She didn't even know he was back in town. Danny completely shut her out since their encounter at Johnny Cakes and Lacey knew why. He probably hated her. But it was better that way, she tried to convince herself.

She was completely and totally over- her thoughts were interrupted as she entered her English class.

"Danny Desai," the teacher called the roll.

Lacey stopped in her tracks; her eyes widened.

"Present," he glared snidely at Lacey who was still standing in the doorway, then turned away.

Lacey gulped as she took her seat not far from where Danny was sitting.

"Hi Danny," she forced herself to smile.

"You probably shouldn't talk to me." He responded hastily. "Your boyfriend might take it the wrong way."

Lacey's face grew warm, and she sank into her seat.

"Alright class, today we will be reviewing _The Great Gatsby. _Would anyone like to give a brief analysis of the character Daisy Buchanan?"

Danny raised his hand without thinking. He hadn't been in class to read the book, but he did get the opportunity to read it when he was in juvie a few years ago.

"Daisy is impatient, self-absorbed and indecisive," he said now staring directly at Lacey.

"Hmm, very well then." The teacher noted. "And Gatsby?"

Lacey blurted out, "I think he's pathetic."

"Care to elaborate Miss Porter?"

"He leaves Daisy to go better himself, which is great for him, but for five years? He couldn't have possibly expected her to wait for him indefinitely. So she moved on, she had to."

Danny shot back, "But Gatsby thought only of Daisy every second of every day. Every thing he did, from seeking wealth, to throwing those elaborate parties, was an effort to impress Daisy, to prove himself, that he's good enough for someone as beautiful and perfect as she." Danny began to raise his voice.

"Daisy never asked him to do any of those things! She loved him; she would have traded everything, the parties, and the money, anything just to have him there with her! Gatsby claimed to have loved her so much but he never called, he barely wrote. Daisy thought he was gone out of her life forever and she hated it but she learned to accept it. Gatsby wanted her back only after he had given her up, but you can't change the past, it's over."

"I don't want to change the past Lacey!" Danny was now standing up. "I just want you in my future."

Lacey had no idea he still felt that way about her. No words came across her mind, only shock, and a hint of embarrassment as she realized that everyone was staring at her.

"Enough of this nonsense," their teacher declared. Porter, Desai, detention, ten minutes after class."

…

"Rico, have you seen Jo? I've been looking for her everywhere."

"Oh hi Danny, nice to see you too," Rico replies awkwardly. "Gee, I don't know how to say this," he stumbles over his words, "but I think Jo is sort of, kind of trying to avoid you."

"What makes you think that?"

"She said verbatim that she's sort of kind of trying to avoid you. I'm not supposed to tell you that she just headed to the courtyard with Tyler, and I'm really not supposed to tell you that we're still meeting at the diner after school so if you were to conveniently drop by-"

Danny laughed. "Okay Rico, thanks man, but I can't today, I have detention."

"Already? I mean you just got back. Not that I would judge you, I mean you're a great guy." Rico is speaking too fast for Danny to listen.

"Yeah I just got into it with Lacey in English."

"Oh, do you guys still…"

"We're uh, working on it," Danny wasn't sure what would become of his relatioship with Lacey after the day's events. He was hoping she would at least be willing to speak to him.

"Anyway, let Jo know I'm looking for her." He heads to the detention room. Lacey was already sitting down in the back of the room. She seemed vexed to be there. Danny sat down beside her.

"So is this where the cool kids hang out?"

He looked around at the rest of the kids in detention. One boy was carving his skin with an eraser. There was a girl in the far corner who wore all black, and her hair covered her entire face.

Lacey glared at him and then took out her phone to text Phoebe. They had made plans to shop for jewelry for homecoming right after school, but Lacey now had to cancel.

Is that your boyfriend?" Danny asked genuinely.

"Lacey glared at him once again and rolled her eyes. "We're not supposed to talk."

"We're also not supposed to use literature to scorn each other in class," he joked.

Lacey couldn't help but crack a smile. "Yeah that was pretty stupid."

"It was," he admitted.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

White flags were waving already. Danny knew Lacey couldn't stay mad at him.

"So, that guy-" He began.

"Danny, I'm sorry about embarrassing you in class."

"You embarrassed yourself too," he giggled.

"But I'm happy now." Lacey's tone was now serious.

Danny looked confused. "I'm glad that you're happy, but Lace, come on, you appeared to be happy with Archie too."

Lacey's jaw dropped. "Are you really gonna go there? And Justin's not even my boyfriend, he just asked me to homecoming."

Danny was silenced by this revelation. Lacey wasn't even with the guy. He felt so stupid.

"Homecoming? I'm sorry Lace, I didn't know."

"No Danny, you didn't know, because you weren't here…again"

Danny heard a hint of pain and resentment in her voice. He reached out to touch her hand but Lacey moved it quickly.

"Forget it." She surrendered, putting in earphones for the remainder of their time in detention.


	3. We Are One

Those ten minutes in detention with Lacey had to have been the most grueling, excruciating minutes of Danny's life. I t pained him to be in a room, so close to her, yet the distance between so far. What Lacey said to him that stung was that she was happy. She was happy without him.

Danny made his way out of the doors of Green Grove High feeling defeated. He was quickly bombarded by a stampede of boys, some of which were very familiar to him.

"Socio!" One boy cried out.

"Stop it, dude his name is Danny." Danny recognized the voice of Cole. He identified the boys as the soccer team.

"Desai," Cole announced, "it's good to have you back." Danny searched the crowd for his old "friend" Archie, the. He remembered that the soccer captain had be suspended for poisoning Cole.

"It's good to be back." Danny was glad to see that Cole was so welcoming of him, but was still puzzled by the entire team gathering around him. He looked around awkwardly.

"Is there something you guys want from me?"

"We wanted to introduce you to your new captain." Danny looked around. _His new captain? He hadn't even thought about rejoining the team. _

"And who may that be?" He responded.

"Yours truly," Cole said with a smile.

"Wow, congratulations man, you deserve it. But I don't know if I'm going to play soccer this year, I should probably focus on-"

"Nonsense, we've already reserved your jersey." Cole enthused. Danny still wasn't sure if this was what he wanted but figured he owed it to Cole for turning in Archie. "Every good soccer team needs a Socio on defense." Danny fist bumped Cole.

"Oh and this is my co-captain, Cole motioned at a boy Danny recognized as the guy Lacey was with earlier.

"Co-captain?" Danny gritted his teeth.

"He's new here, from Jefferson High, one of our biggest rivals, and I would have never admitted to this before he joined our team, but he's pretty tough competition.

"Nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you." Justin offered his hand to Danny who looked down at it then directly at his face. Justin was tall, with broad shoulders and perfectly defined biceps. His pearly white teeth and creamy brown skin were flawlessly disgusting.

"It's uh, good to meet you too." Danny shook his hand reluctantly.

Cole noticed this uncomfortable exchange. "Alright, let's hit field. Bring it in, we are one!" He chanted as Danny along with the rest of the soccer team followed him to the field for practice.

…

"Hey man, you looked really good out there." Justin patted Danny on the back. He rolled his eyes. Yeah well I was just getting warmed up. I'm out of practice.

"Okay, confident, I like that. They were walking towards Justin's shiny red 2010 Ford Mustang. Great, even his car was perfect, Danny thought.

"You want a ride?"

Danny politely declined "I'm not too far down the road. I usually just walk."

"Come on," he insisted. "I want to run a few plays by you." Danny didn't want to display his jealousy so he humbly stepped towards the car. He hated this guy already, even more than he did Archie. At least he could pin Archie as the jerk that didn't deserve Lacey. As he was thinking of Lacey, Danny noticed a black blazer was lying on the passenger seat. It was the same one he Lacey had worn earlier.

"Oh, you can just throw that in the back. It belongs to this girl."

"_This _girl?" Danny inquired as if he didn't already know.

"Yeah, Lacey Porter. She is," he sighed, "a piece of work."

Danny was suddenly intrigued. "Yeah she is, he said below his breath."

"You know Lacey? Justin looked at Danny then back at the road.

"Yeah, well we used to be good friends." Danny looked down at his hands.

Justin sighed, "Sometimes she's just so hard to read. It's frustrating. I mean one minute she's all over me." Danny winced at the thought of Lacey throwing herself at Justin. "And then the next minute she won't even let me touch her." Danny cringed again. What made this guy think he would be remotely interested in hearing the details of his new relationship with his former girlfriend?

"I feel like she may have feelings for someone else. If that's the case I don't want to rush her into a relationship."

"A relationship?" Danny asked curiously.

"Yeah we've been hanging out. I asked her to homecoming. I know it's kind of corny but I was hoping to ask her to be my girlfriend at the dance. Is that lame?" The car stopped, they had arrived at Danny's house. Danny exited the vehicle then looked back at Justin who was contemplating what he'd just shared.

"No," Danny said finally. "It's not lame." Danny felt guilty about what crossed his mind next. He was suddenly inspired to attend homecoming.


	4. Can't Be Friends

"No mother, I think I can find a suit on my own, " Karen was urging her son to allow her to help him, but he really didn't feel like being bothered.

"Well at least let me drive you to the mall."

"The mall?" Danny looked at her with a puzzled glare. "I was just going to hit up the Salvation Army and see whatever bargains I can find," he said, clearly joking. He looked at his mother's face. It meant so much to her that he was going to this dance.

"Fine, you can take me, but I don't want you questioning my judgment. Whatever I chose, just smile, nod, and go along with it. Okay?"

Karen winced, "You're at least going to try on a few Armani's though, right?" She added with a hopeful grin.

"Mother."

"Okay, fine. I won't say anything." Karen grabbed her keys and the two of them headed to the mall.

They barely got their feet in the door when Karen spotted a shoe sale that desperate for her attention. Danny spotted Jo heading into Macy's to return a dress.

"Jo!" He called out as he chased after her. "Jo, hey. I've been looking for you."

"In the mall? Really Danny? I'm sure this wasn't a mere coincidence."

Danny searched her face for a sign that she was joking but Jo's face was hard and solemn. Her eyes were slightly red, and he knew that she had been crying.

"What's wrong?"

"Not like you care, she proceeded to walk towards the checkout.

"Hey Jo, remember me? Danny? Yeah we used to be good friends at one time," Danny replied condescendingly. "Just tell me what's wrong, please." He looked her directly in her eyes. Jo looked away.

"Tyler broke up with me. He um, got what he wanted from me, now he has other plans on his on his to do list."

"Oh wow," Danny caught himself sounding judgmental. "Do you want me to pay him a visit? All I need is a little red jump rope, and I'll have my way with him."

Jo couldn't suppress her laughter. "Danny you should really chill with the murder jokes."

"And you should really go to homecoming with me," he smiled.

"Danny I'm still-"

"Is that a yes?" He grinned.

"Of course," she conceded with a sigh. "Gosh Danny Desai, you never cease to woo me with your charm. They both laughed. "I'm really sorry for the way I acted when I found out about you and Lacey."

_Lacey. _She just had to mention that name. Now Danny couldn't stop thinking about her again.

"No, I don't blame you, I should have told you." Danny lamented on his earlier conversation with Lacey and how she was happier without him.

Noticing his overcoming sadness, Jo remarked, "Lacey has really missed you. She and I don't talk that much, but when we do she talks about you. It really hurt her that you didn't respond to any of her calls."

"I know, but I'll make it up to her."

Jo's eyes wondered away from Danny. She couldn't bear to look at him. He was so swoon, and it was obvious, but Lacey had told Jo that she was over him. She was trying to move on, and it would behoove him to try to win her over again.

"Lacey doesn't want you to make it up to her Danny," Jo blurts out. She seems to be happy with that soccer jock guy." Sometimes Danny hated Jo's honesty. He lowered his eyes.

"But I know she wants her friend back. I mean, you guys have been through so much together. We all have, but that's why we're such good _friends." _We can survive anything together."

_Friends_, Danny thought.

"You're right. Anyway, we should probably start looking for my attire. It's convenient that you have your dress along with you. You can find a tie to match.

Danny settled on a black pinstriped suit with a burgundy tie. He met back up with his mother who had accumulated a quite a few shopping bags of her own.

"I noticed you and Jo together. Is she going to be your date?"

"I wouldn't call it a date, but she and I are going together. She just had a bad break up," Danny responded.

"I always thought she had a crush on you," Karen just smiled.

Danny did not want to confirm his mother's speculations, so he just said, "Jo and I are to good of friends to even think about crossing that line."

"Well what about Lacey?" Danny stopped in himself in his tracks. How did his mother know about his past relationship with Lacey?

"Come on, I'm your mother. You think I didn't know?" Her face brightened with motherly omniscience.

"That's different," he reasoned.

"How?" His mother asked genuinely. "You Lacey and Jo were all the best of friends. How can you so comfortably fall for Lacey but you can't even fathom the thought of looking at Jo that way?"

Danny didn't know how to answer the question. It was an excellent question, and even he wasn't even sure of it himself. Just like Jo, Lacey had been his friend since childhood, but he never once felt remotely uncomfortable in expanding his relationship with Lacey beyond the realms of friendship. What was it about her that was so electrifying? So levitating? So addicting? He had never even posed that question to himself.


	5. But We Can Try

Lacey felt awful for the way she had acted towards Danny the other day. She was hoping when she saw him again, her feelings for him would be resolved, but instead they had resurfaced.

Gosh, she thought, there's just something about him, that hair, long, shiny, black hair, those eyes that seemed to peer directly into the depths of her soul. Perhaps it was the way he knew her, every insecurity and every weakness. Danny accepted Lacey despite her need to hide their relationship when they were together, and despite how cold she had acted towards him when he came back the first time. Lacey felt inextricably drawn to him, like falling for him was not a choice but an inevitable reaction to what fate had in store for them. But why? Why was she so taken by his very presence?

Lacey cleared these things from her mind. She had to refocus. Homecoming was only one day away, and Justin promised that he had something special planned for her. She knew he was going to ask her to be his girlfriend. The boy was not the least bit covert. He was so sweet to her, and honest, two things she valued in a relationship. If only Danny could have been honest with her. The problem with her and Danny was that they are too much alike. They both try to deflect their feelings, and avoid talking about certain things, which could be detrimental to the progress of their relationship.

Disrupting her thoughts, Lacey received a text. She rolled over on her bed to see who it was.

_**Hey beautiful. Can't wait to see you tomorrow. **_

It was Justin, he was so sweet. No seriously, she thought, he was _too _sweet, and thoughtful, and perfect. Lacey couldn't believe that she could have lingering feelings for Danny when she'd scored a great guy like Justin. She smiled again at his text and responded.

_**You're perfect. I can't wait to see you either.**_

She started to add a winky face at the end, but thought it would send the wrong message. Lacey's phone buzzed again, and she wondered what he had said in reply. But the number wasn't his, it was Danny. When she saw this, Lacey dropped her phone instinctively, but after careful consideration picked it back up to receive the message.

_**We need to talk. Meet me at McNally Park at 4:00.**_

Lacey looked at the clock on her phone. It was 3:15. What did Danny want now? Maybe he really did just want to talk, Lacey thought doubtfully. She figured he would try to make advances towards her and had already begun formulating responses to let him down easy. He just had to make everything difficult. Lacey thought she had been clear about what she wanted when they had that discussion in English class, but she knew Danny was never one to give up easily, especially concerning her.

Lacey arrived at McNally Park where she found Danny sitting on one of the benches, staring down at his feet.

"Hey." She walked over to him.

They both said in unison, "I'm so sorry." Danny stood up to greet her.

"No, Danny I'm sorry, for everything. "For what I said at Johnny Cakes," she trailed off.

"No Lace, I am," he spoke slowly as to assure the words exiting his mouth aligned with what he was trying to convey. "I just want you to be happy."

Lacey half-smiled guiltily. "You deserve to be happy too," she assured him.

"So I've been doing some thinking." Oh no, Lacey thought. _Thinking? About her? _After their heart-filled apology, she couldn't bear to reject him as planned.

She interjected, "Danny-"

"No Lace just let me finish." Lacey retreated quietly. "I've been thinking…about us." _Here it comes_, Lacey's eyes reflected her thoughts.

"And how we used to be such good friends," Danny continued.

"F-friends?" Danny's words took her by surprise.

"Yeah, remember? At one time we were closer than me and Jo."

Lacey remembered. When they were ten she and Danny became inseparable. They did everything together. The walked to and from school together alone, Jo always opted to ride with her dad. They would often hold secret meetings at the fort where the two of them would just talk, about anything, everything. They were really close, Lacey thought to herself.

"Yeah we were good friends." She tried to mask her disappointment. She knew it was silly of her to even feel so disappointed. She planned to turn Danny down if he did try to get back with her anyway. And she had Justin, sweet, gorgeous, incredibly fit, Justin, who really liked her.

"That's what I'm saying, we should get back to that." He nudged her in the side. "I just don't think things should be weird between us. I mean I, he paused for a moment, contemplating whether he was making the right decision. "I really don't want to lose you Lace." He looked into her eyes intently.

Lacey's heart melted. Although she still had feelings for him, she was happy that they wouldn't write each other off as ex boyfriend and girlfriend. They weren't just exes, what they had- have, is stronger. Lacey smiled. It felt as if they were cutting some sort of mythological tie.

"I'm really happy we can be friends. I don't want to lose you either." Lacey stepped in to hug him. Danny held her tighter. She buried her face in his chest taking in his familiar scent. Danny closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't want to let her go, but he forced himself to pull away.

He tried to lighten the mood, "I can't wait to see what flamboyant ensemble you have planned for homecoming." Danny just wanted to let her know that he too would be attending. "You always did have a knack for fashion," he joked.

"Actually I didn't." Lacey remembered how plainly she used to dress. She wore the same sneakers with everything. Lacey winced at the thought.

"I know," Danny teased. "Time has done you justice."

"Hey!" She punched him playfully on the arm. "But anyway, I didn't know you were going to homecoming. Did you score a date?"

"Did you put a thumbtack on Mr. Tubman's chair in fourth grade?" Danny responded to confirm that he had a date. Lacey laughed at this memory. Danny had dared her to do it because the teacher would have never have suspected her as she was an exemplary student. She remembered the look on Mr. Tubman's face. He was a rotund man. When he sat on the thumbtack, he let out a loud yelp and he stood to rub his bum in front of the entire class. The teacher dismissed it as an accident, but Lacey became a class hero for getting them out of a quiz that day.

"So, who are you going with?"

"Just Jo," he replied.

"_Just _Jo? Why do you say it like that?"

"No, I just meant, you know, we're going as friends."

"Oh, well maybe we can all do our funny dance this time," Lacey grinned. "I didn't get to do it with you guys at Fall Fest."

Danny's mind flashed back to their time at the fall festival. Prior to that night, Lacey seemed to have kept him a distance. He watched her from afar as she conversed with other townspeople, secretly admiring that royal blue dress that laid snuggly on her beautiful body. That was the night she kissed him, the night everything changed between them, forever.

"Yeah, we should totally do our funny dance in a room full of judgmental high school students. That should do wonders for our social lives," Danny said sarcastically. "But-" he continued regaining seriousness "maybe you could save me a dance."

Lacey looked away shyly. "Yeah, maybe."

With that, the two parted. Danny watched as Lacey got into her car. _Goodbye Lacey_, he whispered to himself.


	6. If That's the Way the Game is Played

Lacey was beginning to grow anxious about homecoming. In all the stress of her dilemma with Danny, she had almost forgotten she was in the running for homecoming queen. Lacey didn't want to get her hopes up though, Sarita was also a contender, and the two of them, now rivals, both split the popularity. Sarita wasn't as popular as she believed herself to be though, partly because she was mean to everyone, and partially because she never shined alone; she was always an accessory to either Regina or Lacey. This reaffirmed Lacey's confidence, but she still didn't want to appear overly confident.

She was at Phoebe's house getting ready. The girls had just finished putting on their makeup and were now waiting for their dates arrive. Lacey grew even more nervous when she remembered that she had invited Jo over get ready with them. The logic was since Jo was going to be going with Tyler, Phoebe's brother, it would only be courteous to invite her along, but now she was going to be going with Danny.

It does not have to be awkward, Lacey tried to convince herself. She and Danny were friends now. She had a Justin, whom she suspected endeavored define their relationship tonight. She should not worry about Danny or Jo, or Danny and Jo…going to homecoming…together. She tried to erase the thought, and mild jealousy from her mind.

Jo rang the doorbell, and was greeted by a petite blonde girl wearing a hot pink dress that was hugely inappropriate for a school function. Tyler walked into the room shortly thereafter.

"Thanks for getting the door babe." He kissed the blonde in front of Jo.

"Jo, I see you can't get enough of me." His teasing was not appreciated. She stepped into the house with a sigh.

"Where's Lacey?" Tyler directed her upstairs.

"Hey Jo," Lacey addressed her friend. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks, you too." Lacey could tell Jo was irritated, she assumed it was a result of being in the presence of her ex boyfriend.

"Jo, I'm sorry, I didn't know you guys were going to break up when I asked you-"

"It's fine."

"Is Danny here?" Lacey shifted on her feet uncomfortably.

"He's on his way. He told me he would meet me here." Jo observed Lacey's face. "Are you okay with this? With me and Danny going together? Because I was going to ask you

But he-"

"No, Jo you don't have to ask me anything. Danny and I are friends now." Her lips curled into a smile.

"Oh, well okay then." Jo looked at her doubtfully.

Just then Phoebe's mom called the girls downstairs as their dates had arrived. Phoebe was the first to go down the stairs. Wearing a strapless turquoise dress with stunning silver Jimmy Choo heels, Phoebe twirled for the camera. Her mother snapped the picture as she strutted towards her homecoming date. Next was Jo, wearing a simple, but beautiful burgundy dress that was slightly ruffled at the top and flared at the bottom. Danny's eyes lit up when he saw her, which caused Jo to blush. Last was Lacey, who marched down the stairs sporting a short, silver and red sequined dress that had a crimson train. Danny took in the sight of her beauty. Her curls hung effortlessly on her shoulders and the dress accented her long, slim legs. She was walking straight towards him, he imagined, as he smiled sheepishly. His fantasies were cut short when Justin pushed his way passed Danny to get near Lacey.

"Wow," was all he had the strength to utter.

"Thanks Justin," she smiled shyly, and then caught Danny gazing at her. Justin stepped away to talk to Phoebe's date, Michael about soccer stats.

"Wow, my friend is gorgeous." Danny said walking towards Lacey.

"Thanks," she blushed.

"No really Lace, you look like a queen," he said a little more firmly than necessary. Between taking pictures, the two of them were all giggles and inside jokes.

Justin jokingly commented, "Are you trying to steal my date Desai?"

Danny responded, only partially kidding, "You never know, I might."

Danny was glad that Lacey was not near to witness the exchange of words. He knew she would be able to detect his seriousness.

The teens took a few pictures before anxiously heading out with their dates. Justin stopped Lacey as just as she began to leave out of the door behind the rest of the group. Danny lingered behind, just outside of the door, which was still cracked open. He couldn't hear what they were saying but he saw Justin step closer to Lacey.

"I got you something." He pulled from his pocket, a little box, which he opened it to reveal a diamond necklace.

Lacey felt her heart leap. "Justin," was all she could say.

"May I?" He motioned for her permission to let him put it on her.

Lacey grabbed her hair, pulling it to the side to allow him access to her neck. She turned her back towards him. Justin wrapped the necklace around her slowly and fastened it. His eyes stayed fixed on bare flesh. Justin deposited small breaths on the nape of Lacey's neck which he then graced with slow passionate kisses. Lacey closed her eyes in response to him, he was an amazing kisser, but she quickly remembered Danny and pulled away from him.

Danny, who had still been standing there, inhaling it all with sad eyes, turned pitifully to the limo to join with the others.

"We should probably get going," she veered Justin away from her. "But thank you so much." She pecked him on the lips with one small, passionless kiss.

He noticed that she seemed to be less thrilled by his gesture and finally decided to confront her about her unreciprocated affections.

"You know Lacey, I'm trying to be patient with you, I really am, but I'm also _really_ into you. And it just seems like you're either too distracted to realize that, or maybe you do realize, but you just don't care. "

Justin wasn't sure if he was coming across too harshly, but it was not his intention to. He watched as the coerced smile on her face dropped, and feeling badly, he continued. "Look, all I'm saying is, if you don't feel the same way, I mean," he tries to compose himself, "If you don't see a future with me, then please spare me the embarrassment. I don't want to fall for you if you're not in it," he said gently.

"Justin, I-"

"You don't have to give me an answer now. I'll give you this night to figure out your feelings."

Lacey found it hard to swallow. She was embarrassed that Justin was calling her on her feelings, but she knew he was right; she had been completely unfair to him.

"Hey," he lifted her chin up, detecting the sadness in her eyes, "cut that out, you're to beautiful cry, and it's your big day." He kissed her on the forehead and embraced her with his arms.

For the first time since they had been together, Lacey felt connected to Justin. She needed to be honest with him, and herself. Lacey started to tell him that she had already made up her mind about who she wanted to be with, but the chauffer beeped the horn in the limo impatiently, signaling them to hurry up. Lacey grabbed her purse, and Justin escorted her to the car.

"Ugh, come on divas. We're going to be fashionably late!" Tyler yelled from the roof of the limo. Justin held the door for Lacey as she stepped into the vehicle. He climbed in after her. Lacey didn't want to draw any attention to her new accessory, but Phoebe blurted out "Oh. My. Gosh. Lacey is that a real diamond? "She pointed at the necklace around Lacey's neck.

"Um, yeah," she said her face growing warm as everyone, specifically Danny, directed their attention to her. Lacey watched his eyes growing envious as his eyes jumped from her to Justin.

Danny leaned back and whispered something to Jo, which caused her to laugh hysterically. Lacey sharpened her eyes at the two of them. They looked really good together. Jo was always there for Danny, she thought, even when Lacey and everyone else shunned him, Jo had faith in him. Lacey looked over at Justin was holding a conversation with Tyler, and then she looked back at Danny whose hand had traveled down to Jo's knee.

Lacey surprised herself when she jumped onto Justin's lap. She instantly assaulted his lips with steamy kisses and began nibbling on his ear. Justin looked confused but pleased; he pulled her away from him searching for an explanation.

"The answer is yes. I want _you_," she narrowed her eyes at him with a flirtatious smirk.

Tyler, assuming Lacey meant she wanted Justin sexually, commented, "Whoa, now. If you're gonna do it in the limo, at least let me get my camera." He and his date were the only ones who laughed.

Danny was not even watching, he was staring blankly out of the window of the limousine. He poured a flask out of his coat pocket, and signaled for everyone's attention. He started tapping on the flask as if to make a toast. He raised it in the air and announced, "To new beginnings."

Danny had his hand on top of Jo's and was staring directly at her. Lacey sat back down in her seat as Danny passed around the flask. When it reached her, Lacey took a drink and cheered, her eyes narrowing at Danny directly. "To new beginnings."

…

Finally, they were had arrived to their destination. The gym was decorated with balloons and streamers. Pretty lame, Lacey thought. She vowed to be on the decorating committee the next year. She couldn't bare to join this year, it was something she and Regina had always talked about doing before they got into high school. Regina always envisioned herself being crowned the queen. She even prepared an acceptance speech. Lacey smiled at the memory of her best friend. She looked at a poster on the wall: _Queen Lacey Porter for Homecoming. _She laughed to herself, her campaign team was really serious about this whole homecoming thing. She really only wanted to win it for Regina.

"What was that, in the limo?" Justin interrupted her thoughts. "I thought you didn't like public display of affection."

"Well- I-" Lacey fumbled around her words, "I don't like public display of affection. _Unless _I'm in a relationship with someone." This caused Justin to blush. "So does this mean we're dating?" He asked hopefully inching his way near her. Lacey smiled but didn't say anything. She could have kicked her self for her poor choice of words. Justin didn't wait for her to respond. He led her to the dance floor.

…

Danny was having such a great time with Jo at the dance. It was so nice to have her back in his life again, but all he could think about was Lacey. He allowed his eyes to wonder over to where she and Justin were dancing periodically. He tried to push her out of his mind.

"Jo, I'm curious. You look beautiful, you smell amazing. You are one of the most genuine people I have ever met, and you have been my biggest supporter since the beginning." He paused for a moment. "Why don't I feel- I've tried, but-"

Jo sighed angrily. "So, I guess all that crap about new beginnings, the way you looked at me in the limo, what was it all just to make her jealous?" Jo pushed Danny away from her and started to walk away. He pulled her back to him.

"No, I wanted to give it a try, to see what it would feel like," he said apologetically.

"So kiss me." Jo didn't give Danny the chance to say anything. She grabbed him by his collar and pressed her lips on his. After she pulled away, Danny just stood there awkwardly

"I just wanted to give it a try - you know- to see what it would feel like," she mimicked him and then stormed off. Danny continued to stand there, stunned, too stunned to realize that Lacey was watching them from the stage. She had just been crowned homecoming queen.


	7. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

Lacey composed herself as she gracefully accepted her crown. She searched for Justin in the crowd. Archie was crowned king, even in his absence. There was a group of boys wearing Free Archie tshirts beneath their suit jackets. Lacey rolled her eyes. He was nothing more than a glorified dirtbag. Lacey looked back to where she had just seen Danny and Jo swapping saliva. She couldn't believe he had gone that far. Maybe Danny really was serious when he said he wanted to be friends. Maybe Jo was the reason he just wanted to be friends. Lacey felt more hurt than she did angry.

"Can you call a cab?" Lacey remembered that she and her date traveled in the limo with a number of other people. She didn't want to ruin everyone else's homecoming, but she wanted to go home.

"What's the matter? You won!" He said enthusiastically before noticing that Lacey didn't share his excitement.

"I just, don't feel well." Justin kissed her on the forehead.

"Alright, I'm on it."

"Thanks," she murmured as he pulled out his phone and walked out of the gym.  
...

After kissing Jo, Danny realized why he could never have feelings for her. He always thought of Jo as a little sister. Being with her would be wrong for him on so many levels. He realized he had never, even in their childhood, regarded Lacey as just his friend. He didn't understand it at the time, but he had always felt differently about Lacey.

"Lacey!" Danny exclaimed, running over to her. "Congratulations." He still didn't know Lacey had witnessed his rendezvous with Jo.

"Thanks Danny," she said sadly and turned to walk away.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Justin is waiting for me." She said finally, "I'm going home."

"But Lace-" Danny's voice broke, "you promised me a dance."

Lacey sighed, she didn't want to let him know she had seen him with Jo, especially since they were trying to be friends. Some upbeat pop song was playing on the speaker, so she figured one dance wouldn't hurt.

Just as they met on the dance floor, the DJ changed the song to a ballad by John Mayer. They both looked at each other awkwardly. Lacey considered walking away, but Danny quickly grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him. The guitar intro was beautiful, and the song began.

_It's not a silly little moment  
It's not the storm before the calm  
This is the deep and dying breath of  
This love that we've been working on_

Lacey tried to ignore how uncomfortable it was for her to be so close to Danny. She could feel his warm breath on her should as he leaned his head against hers. Lacey cleared her throat and created more of a distance between them. Danny allowed her the space she needed, he was just happy to be there with her. The song continued to play.

_Can't seem to hold you like I want to  
So I can feel you in my arms  
Nobody's gonna come and save you  
We pulled too many false alarms_

"I can't believe I'm actually dancing with the queen Lacey Porter," Danny joked. "And in public." That part he meant to keep to himself. He offered a smile, to assure Lacey he wasn't speaking spitefully.

Lacey half-smiled back at him, then lowered her eyes. She thought about the day Danny returned to Green Grove after being released from juvie, how she had coined him the nickname Socio, which people were still referring to him as. She thought about how she'd let down her guard in front of him, when he invited her into his house after she drove him home from the party. Lacey knew then, they could never resume the friendship they had when they were young. The way he looked at her. She flashbacked in memory.

**_"I regret not growing up with you and Jo, ruining what we had. We had some fun, didn't we? I miss that. I think you miss it too."_**

**_"I thought the past was in the past."_**

Lacey knew that Danny wanted to kiss her then, she wanted it too. He searched her eyes for approval then concentrated on her lips, but she had leaned across him to grab the bag of Blue Ranch potato chips. After hours of reminiscing about the old times, Lacey had fallen asleep on the floor of Danny's room. The next morning, she rushed home only to be greeted with the news that her best friend, Regina Crane had been murdered. She didn't want to believe it was Danny but Danny did attend Regina's party and there he had gotten into it with Scott. There was a possibility that when she had fallen asleep Danny could have gone back to Regina's house. The thought was frightening. But good old folk hero Jo believed him from the start, she was there for Danny even then. Lacey regretted that she was not.

"So how is your date with Jo going?" Lacey realized that the distance between them was growing narrow.

"Who?"

"Jo."

"Oh right," Danny had been daydreaming himself. "Yeah, it's going great." He said, "but you know it's not a date."

"Right," Lacey said doubtingly.

"I'd much rather be here with you." He assured her, gazing into Lacey's glassy eyes.

"As friends?" She asked coolly. Danny held back the words he wanted to say.

_We're going down  
And you can see it too  
We're going down  
And you know that we're doomed  
My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room_

He grabbed Lacey tighter. She relaxed her head on his chest. Danny rested his chin on top of Lacey's head and lowered his hands. He inhaled her familiar scent.

"Lacey," he whispered to her softly. She looked up at him, her brown eyes gazing directly into his. He pulled a strand of hair away from her face and stroked her cheek. Danny's eyes drifted down to her plump, luscious lips. He stared at them longingly and-

"Lacey, the cab is here," Justin startled them both. The song was almost over.

"Can you give me a second?" Justin looked suspiciously at the way the two were looking at each other.

"Sure." He went to wait in the cab.

"Don't go with him," Danny plead. "Stay with me," he begged softly.

Lacey hadn't forgotten about his earlier exchange with Jo. "I'm done Danny," she said finally. Danny assumed that he must have misinterpreted the bond they had just shared, so he insisted, "I thought we were friends."

Lacey gulped, trying to hold back the tears that had already begun to form. She looked back at him as she headed for the door. "You and I both know we can never be friends."

Danny stood speechless.

"Lacey called out, "Jo's over there alone, why don't you go comfort her with your lips."

And with that, she was gone.

_Go cry about it, why don't you?_  
_My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room_


	8. What She Wants

_**It took me an entire two days to put up a new chapter. I know, I know, sorry about the wait. Honestly, I hadn't planned on continuing this story. I liked the idea of leaving their relationship unresolved, but after reading the reviews, I did decide to carry the story on. I'm thinking about wrapping this up in 3 or 4, maybe five chapters. It was just a quick idea I had, I wasn't expecting people to enjoy so much, but thank you. **_

Danny's knees felt weak. He could feel his heart beating wildly beneath his chest, and with every beat bled the desire to chase after her. He wanted to explain to Lacey that his kiss with Jo didn't mean anything to him, but he figured it wouldn't change anything.

"Dude, what was that?" Danny turned to see Cole approaching him angrily.

"We were just dancing," Danny replied nervously.

"Come on Danny, seriously? Look man, Lacey's cool, she's cute, you guys have that whole best-friends-turned-lovers vibe going on, I get that. But do you know how hard it was to find a player as strong offensively as Archie? Listen, normally I would stay out of it. It's your life. If you wanted steal girls from every guy in the school -except me of course- I would be perfectly fine with that, but when it starts to effect the team- I've got to draw the line."

Danny knew what Cole was saying was true, but he cared way more about Lacey than he did the soccer team. He tried to speak up, "Maybe I shouldn't be on the t-"

"He's not like Archie." Cole reasoned. "Justin is really serious about her. You know, when he transferred here a few weeks after you went AWOL and he was really there for Lacey. I hate to break it to you buddy, but you weren't."

"I'm here now," Danny tried to defend himself.

"I know you are," Cole nodded his head, "that's the dilemma," he joked. "Come on," he said, patting Danny on the back. "I'll take you home." As the boys headed for the exit, someone came running up behind them.

"Danny, can we talk?" Danny heard a female's voice. It was Jo. He rolled his eyes and then turned to face her.

Cole observed the tension between the two of them. "You breed drama Desai!" He said jokingly. "I'll be in the car."

"I was just gonna head out a little early, I hope that's okay with you."

"Yeah, that's fine," she said timidly. "Are you okay?"

Danny's face hardened. He really did not want to be having this conversation with her right now. "I'm fine Jo," he lied.

"Danny, I'll talk to Lacey, we can fix this."

"I think you've done enough," he barked coldly.

"Oh," Jo's head dropped. "Well I am really sorry," she offered.

"Yeah, you should be," he said harshly, then quickly softened his tone. "Look I'm sorry Jo, but I just can't right now." He said, unable to look at her.

...

Meanwhile, Justin rode with Lacey to her house. When they got there, he walked her to her door.

"Thanks for making sure I got home. I can pay for the cab," she offered.

"It's okay Lacey, I got it." He flashed that winning smile of his.

"Justin, you have been so kind to me, and patient, and understanding." She hated herself for what she was about to do, but it only seemed right. "But I can't keep stringing you along when I still have feelings for-" she couldn't bring herself to say his name.

"I don't think you're just stringing me along," he interrupted. "Now correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't seem like the type of girl that would date a guy solely to make someone else jealous.

"Justin, I-"

"You may be confused about your feelings for him, but deep down you know that I'm good to you, and good for you. Otherwise you would have found some sleaze ball to dangle in his face until you convinced yourself that you were better off with this other guy. "

"But-" Lacey could not get a word in. Justin was calling her on feelings yet another time tonight. He did not even know her but she felt like he knew her.

"You're gonna get with this guy, I mean the guy from before, and he's going to break your heart, or you'll break his. And once it's over it will be impossible for the two of you to stand in the same room as one another because all of those feelings that had been building up between you for all of those years will linger indefinitely. And you're going to miss your friend Danny, and he's going to miss you, but you have been down that road before and it only led to destruction."

Lacey seemed to be both disturbed and shocked that Justin knew about Danny. "How long have you known?"

Justin pulled out his cell phone to reveal the video that Doug had recorded of Lacey and Danny making out. "Good old Archie Yates," he said sarcastically, he too couldn't stand the guy. "He sent that to me a few days after I asked you to homecoming. I didn't think much of it, except that you and Danny used to be a thing. Then when he came back and you started acting weird around me, and he kept telling me how the two of you used to be such good 'friends,' I kind of just pieced it all together," he explained.

"Danny means so much to me," Lacey knew she couldn't lie to him now.

"I get that, and I don't want to replace him. But just give me chance. I know it won't be easy for you to move on from him, but there's a reason you two aren't together anymore. I mean right?"

"I broke up with him because he lied to me about-" Lacey remembered Regina's necklace. The town, and even Lacey herself, had been skeptical of Danny as he was the leading suspect in Regina's murder, because the necklace she was wearing the night she was killed belonged to Danny's aunt Tara who Danny had killed five years prior. When he finally confessed to having the necklace after several times of denying it, Lacey's suspicions of him resurfaced. She couldn't trust Danny, not only because of what he had done in the past, but because of the uncertainty that he had repeated the same mistake, killing her best friend this time. But DNA doesn't lie, and not an ounce of his DNA was recovered on the murder weapon, it was someone else's which had yet to be determined. If Danny really didn't kill Regina, then her reason for breaking up with him was void.

"There is no reason anymore." She said quietly to herself. "Thank you Justin. I have to go," Lacey said quickly and rushed towards her car.

"Wait where you going?" He grabbed her by the elbow.

"I have to tell him I love him," she exclaimed. "Here." She unclasped the diamond necklace Justin had given to her from her neck, and darted to her silver car. "I'm really sorry," she called out to him as he stood there pitifully.

...

"You're home early." Karen greeted her son as he walked into the door. "How did it go with Jo?" Danny's mother asked more out of nosiness than curiosity.

"Mom, me and Jo are never going to happen!" He barked. His mother was always trying to get him to feel something for Jo, but he simply couldn't.

"I know, I know, sorry. You seem down, I assume something happened with Lacey?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Danny marched up to his room where he threw himself onto his bed. How could he let her get away from him again? Danny wanted to text Lacey, or call her to assure her that nothing was going on between he and Jo, but he didn't think it would make much of a difference. He had put her through so much. There was no way she would even begin to forgive him. Danny was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not even hear the doorbell ring.

...

Lacey became incredibly nervous as she knocked on the door of the Desai's house. She didn't care that Danny had kissed Jo anymore, she knew how he felt about her, and figured that whatever he was feeling for Jo in that moment was because he didn't think there was a chance for them to get back together. Lacey felt her stomach churn, whatever happened, Danny would know how she felt, even if he didn't feel the same way anymore. Lacey was finally being honest to her herself about her feelings and she thought Danny deserved to know.

Lacey knocked on the door again, but this time it opened. "Hi Mrs. Desai, is Danny home yet?" She asked hopefully.

Karen stepped outside to meet Lacey on the porch, and closed the door behind her. "He doesn't want to see you," she said coldly.

"What?" Lacey thought his mother was kidding.

"He doesn't want to see you!" She fired again, more firmly this time. "Listen Lacey," she said approaching her. "My son has been through a lot this year. He doesn't need you and your drama and indecisiveness barging in and out of his life. If you care about Danny at all, you'll just leave him alone."

Karen turned her back to Lacey who was left standing there stupidly. She went back inside, and shut the door after her.


	9. Why is Everything with you Complicated?

Jo had never seen Danny so distressed. He wasn't talking at all and had barely eaten his lunch.

"You're still mad at me, aren't you?"

Danny glared at Jo with cold, hard, menacing eyes. "If you keep asking me that I will be." He warned her.

"Danny, why don't you just talk to Lacey? Or at least let me talk to her. I could explain to her that the kiss was all my fault."

"It wouldn't matter Jo, that kiss was only one of the many ways I've hurt her. She may recover from it, but what about all the lies I've told? What about," he paused, "Tara."

"Lacey's forgiven you for that. We both have." Jo tried to encourage him.

"Maybe, but she hasn't forgotten. She can never forget, I ruined her childhood." His voice cracked a little. "Every time I get upset, every time we argue. I wonder if she is afraid that I might lose control and-" he fought back the urging tears that had already begun to outline the creases of his eyes.

"Danny," Jo comforted him, "Lacey knows you would never hurt her. Where is all this coming from?"

Danny remembered the night after homecoming. He had received a text from Justin, saying:

**_If you want what's best for Lacey, let her be happy with a guy that is respectful and sensitive to her needs, a guy that can be there for her when she's had nightmares about traumatic events in her past, a guy that comforts her, not one that lies to her. Face it rope boy, you didn't just mess things up with Lacey. You messed things up for Lacey. Stop trying to save a girl who was victimized by you._**

"Nowhere," he replied. "Just something I was thinking about.  
...

"Lacey! Lacey!" Jo chased her all the way down the hall before Lacey turned around to let her speak. "What are you doing?"

"What am _I_ doing?" Lacey looked at Jo who was panting, and out of breath.

"I mean, where are you going?"

"I have class Jo, we're at school. Look, if this about Danny, I forgive you. I'm not mad," she said carelessly, trying to walk away but Jo followed closely behind.

"I take full responsibility for that kiss. I kissed Danny, he didn't even kiss me back," she assured her.

"Well that's good to know," Lacey said sarcastically. "Why did you do it?" She turned to Jo in all seriousness.

"I don't know. Jealousy? I was a little curious about what it would be like."

"Oh," that was not a sufficient response, Lacey thought. If she hadn't already predecided to forgive them, Jo would not be making a very convincing argument. "I forgive you both. I'm not mad about it."

"Well that's a relief," Jo sighed. She had never known Lacey to be so forgiving. "So, are you going to talk Danny? Are you going to get back together?"

Lacey furrowed her brow. "Jo, Danny and I are never getting back together." She said simply.

"Why not?"

"Things between us are just too...complicated."

"You both love a challenge." Jo responded quickly.

"We've both hurt each other."

"It just evens out the pain."

"I can't keep barging in and out of his life!" Lacey was becoming annoyed.

"He loves you Lace."

Lacey lamented on the word love. "I'm sorry." She pushed herself passed Jo and continued to the end of the hallway.


	10. Happening Again

"Why would I want to help Danny and Lacey get back together again?" Cole shrugged nonchalantly as he made his way to his locker.

"Because," Jo tried to explain, as she followed him, "They need to be together, and I can't fix this on my own."

"Sounds like a personal problem." Cole grabbed a few books out of his locker. "Besides, I vowed not to take sides. If he wants to go after Justin's girl, that's his choice, I'm keeping my hands clean from it. "

"But she's not Justin's girl, they never even officially dated. I'm pretty sure she ended things anyway." She looked over at Justin who was already surrounded by a swarm of girls, then over at Danny who had been gloomily retrieving books from his locker with his headphones in.

"Fine," Cole conceded. "But only because I can't afford to have him slacking off on the team." Cole approached Danny and ripped out one of his earphones, putting it up to his ear to see what his melancholy friend was listening to. Bill Withers' deep, raspy voice was playing from his phone,_ "Ain't no sunshine when she's gone. It's not warm when she's away."_

Cole shot him serious look. "I'm seriously judging your life right now." He ripped the other earbud from Danny's ear and threw Danny's phone into his locker. "Dude, I completely forgot to tell you, your initiation is today right after school."

"What initiation?" Danny looked irritated.

"New captain, new rules. Locker room. After school. The whole team will be there." Cole said choppily as he walked off.

Danny did not realize this the had not shut his locker entirely before he headed off to his last class of the day.

...

"Go to the boys locker room for what?" Lacey was still a little vexed by Jo trying to be all buddy-buddy again.

"I told you, one of the jocks stole Rico's favorite jacket."

"So why can't he go get it?"

"Because," Jo tried to think of a convincing story, "He's afraid that if he goes in the locker room, the guys will see him and try to beat him up."

"No one is in the locker room right now Jo, school is out, and the soccer team doesn't have practice."

"I know, but uh, he's paranoid." Lacey looked over at Rico who smiled and waved awkwardly.

"Fine." She agreed finally, rolling her eyes.  
...

"What kind of initiation is this?" Danny asked Cole suspiciously. I thought you said the team would be here."

"Uh, they will be," Cole responded unconvincingly. "I had to get you here first," he lied. "They're waiting for my signal to come in." Cole hurriedly exited the locker room.

Danny sat down on the bench below the lockers. He cupped his temples with his palms. What had he gotten himself into? Several minutes passed before he heard the door open and someone came in. Danny stood up, and ventured around the corner where he expected the rest of the boys to be entering.

"Okay guys, whatever this little initiation thing is, can we just get this over with?" He stopped when he saw Lacey. "Um, hey." Danny had not spoken to Lacey since the moment they danced together at homecoming. He was unsure what he would say when he did see her again. Danny just looked at her, blessed by her beauty, but confused by her presence.

"I was, um, looking for Rico's jacket." She knew it sounded like a lie. "He said someone stole it from him."

Danny put his hands up in front of him, "It wasn't me. I may be many things, but I'm no thief." He tried to crack a smile.

"Maybe it's in one of these lockers." She proceeded to move past him, her knees trembling with her every step.

"Yeah, maybe." Danny pretended to look with her, though he really didn't believe her story. "Did he say what color it is?"

"Red." She said blandly.

Danny smiled, he thought of Lacey in the red dress she'd worn the night of the dance. "I'm really sorry," he offered while continuing his look for the jacket.

"You don't have to apologize, Jo already told me."

"Oh." He looked down at the floor, fighting the strong desire to touch her. "So I guess you and Justin-"

"Me and Justin are over." She said, unable to look him in the face, because she knew he would be able to read her. She was desperate to tell him how she felt, but Karen was right. Lacey was a major source of drama in his life. Danny didn't need that.

"Well," Danny put his hand on her shoulder, which caused Lacey to shiver from his electrifying touch. "I'm sorry."

Lacey lifted her head to meet Danny's eyes with her own. They stood searching each other's eyes intently, discerning each others thoughts. When they both came to the realization of the spark between them, their lips simultaneously collided. Lacey grabbed Danny by the back of is head and tugged on his hair gently. He pushed her back against the lockers, kissing her aggressively, first on the lips, then he traveled down to her neck, never ceasing to give her pleasure as he nibbled on her bare flesh erotically. Lacey tilted her head to allow him better access to her neck and her lips pryed themselves apart in response to him.

Danny was the first to pull away. He removed his shirt slowly to reveal his lean, fit body, and she did the same. He threw his arms around Lacey again, this time lifting her up as she wrapped her legs around him. He carried her over to a table in the corner of the room where the coach usually laid out copies of their plays and the players' stats for the team grab.

"Is this strong enough?" Lacey laughed seductively.

"I guess we'll find out." Danny propelled himself on top of her, suddenly becoming aware of his inexperience."I love you Lace." He managed to say between breathing heavily and passionately assaulting Lacey's nearly naked body with his lips. He stopped himself to gaze into her eyes once more before continuing his endeavors.

"Danny I-"

"Danny Desai," a tall muscular man in a uniform pulled the teens apart. You're under arrest for the murder of Archie Yates."

"What?" Danny exclaimed. "That's ridiculous!"

Lacey scrambled to put her clothes back on. "Archie's dead?" Lacey was at a loss for words, she was feeling disoriented and numb.

"I didn't kill Archie." He yelled while being handcuffed.

"It's okay, I believe you." Lacey mouthed. She knew there was no way Danny could have done this, and she vowed to stand behind him this time.

"Is this your cell phone?" A detective entered the room holding in a clear plastic bag, containing what was clearly Danny's phone. It was found at the scene of the crime."

Danny didn't say anything. He cooperated as the officer escorted him to the cruiser. Looking back at Lacey who shed a tear as they drug him away.

"I love you too Danny," she cried, but he was already gone.

**_To be continued..._**


	11. Call me Crazy

"Where were you on the night in question?" Danny was being interrogated.

"I went to the homecoming dance with some friends."

"And did you leave with those same friends?"

"Uh, no. I went home early. One of my other friends drove me."

"What friend? What time did you leave the dance?"

The detective was firing more questions than Danny could answer, so he just leaned back in his seat cooly. Danny smiled confidently at the detective and scooted in closer to him to take control of the interrogation.

"Detective, I guess I've grown kind of...accustomed to these kinds of precedings. So tell me. Am I being held in custody? Or better yet do you even have the evidence to make a formal arrest? If so, I'd like to be Mirandized. Should I call my lawyer?" He smirked.

The detective shifted in his seat uncomfortably and tapped his pen on the table between them. "We'll be calling you back in tomorrow for further questioning."

"Thank you sir," Danny smilied "I'll be looking forward to seeing that winning smile of yours."

The detective frowned. Danny reached out to him for a handshake, but he just glared at Danny and snarled,"Guilty or not, you'll be back in the system soon enough."

Danny wiped the smug grin off of his face and left the interrogation room

...

Lacey was waiting outside of the precinct. She texted Danny asking him to meet her there. Lacey had seen Karen's car out front and for the sake of peace, did not want her to know that she was seeing Danny. Lacey still hadn't told him that his mother disapproved of their relationship. She did not want to stir things up between the mother and son.

"Hey," Lacey said quietly as Danny stepped into the vehicle.

"Hey," there was discouragement in his voice. Lacey noticed this and reached for his hand. "It's going to be alright Danny, I know you didn't do this."

"I could have." He said blankly, pulling his hand from her grasp. "It wouldn't be the first time."

Lacey looked down, it hurt her that he still hadn't forgiven himself for what he'd done five years ago. "That's not who you are anymore." She tried to comfort him.

Danny started to raise his voice. "Well I did hate Archie! And everyone knew it. That already gives me motive, and my cell phone was mysteriously found at the scene of the crime? Gosh, Lace whoever is trying to frame really thought things through this time."

"Wait, that's just it! Whoever is trying to frame you for this could be the same person that killed Regina."

Danny narrowed his eyes at Lacey's newly enlightened face. "Oh, no, I can't let you get involved with this."

"I am involved with this Danny. My best friend and my ex boyfriend are dead. I can't lose you too."

Danny smiled, the first genuine smile to cross his lips in the several hours since he found out he had been renamed the suspect of yet another murder. He leaned in to kiss her, when the two of them where interrupted by a tapping on the passenger side window. It was chief Masterson.

"Danny can I have a word with you?"

Danny stepped out of the car to speak with Jo's dad.

"Look, I'm going to cut to the chase here, there's talk of institutionalizing you."

"What?" Danny exclaimed in disbelief, "They want to put me in a nut house?"

"Not a nut house, just um," he cleared his throat, "a home where you will be treated for any psychological instabilities you may or may not have." Chief Masterson observed Danny's facial expression. "Think of it as your own personal getaway from all the craziness going on around here."

"I'm not going to some psych ward, I'd rather they send me back to juvie."

"Juvie is not an option for you anymore Danny, you're sixteen. Considering your history of- " he tried to euphemise, "violent tendencies, you're more than likely going to be tried as an adult, and if you're convicted, you'll be facing some time in prison." Danny just hung his head in shame. "But this could actually work in your favor, if we're able to prove to the court that you're clinically insane, you may be acquitted."

"Yeah, only to live the rest of my life staring at white walls and painting pictures of inanimate objects that even in their lifeless simplicity possess more emotion than I do."

Chief Masterson frowned and scratched his head.

"Aren't you going to ask me if I did it?"

"I know you didn't son, but until we can prove that, an institution is your best chance. I was just talking to your mother and we both-"

"I'll take the chances on my own." Danny cut him off and started to walk away.

"Danny, don't you want a ride?" Lacey rolled down her window when she realized their conversation was over, but he was too disheartened to even turn around.


	12. Not my Friend

**_Ugh, why do you guys do this to me? I was so sure I was going to wrap this story up in a few chapters, but now I'm in too deep. I'm really excited to see your reactions as you watch this unthaw. This is my first longer-than-one-page fanfiction and I really enjoy writing it! Keep writing reviews! Stay Twisted people, and enjoy!_**

Lacey drove immediately from the precinct to Jo's house. She began knocking on the door erratically until some answered.

"Lacey!" Jo was surprised to see her there, she and Lacey were still friends but had not really been that close in recent years. It didn't help that Jo kissed Danny at homecoming. "How did things go with you and Danny?" She winked.

"Archie was murderdered," Lacey broke out, "The authorities think Danny did it!"

"Whoa," was all Jo could say. She stood there in shock. "Are you serious?"

Lacey nodded her head.

"But when?"

"His body was discovered today in a dumpster near McNally park."

"A dumpster?" Jo was still dumbfounded by the situation.

"They said based on the level of decomposition, he must have been there for three days."

"Since homecoming," Jo noted. "Do you think it was the same person who killed Regina?"

"I think so."

"Okay so what do we know?"

"Danny's phone was planted near the scene of the crime."

"He couldn't have possibly have done it, we were just texting in fifth period study hall."

"I'm sure they would have deleted his most recent text messages." Lacey reasoned.

"Well whoever did it had to have stolen his phone sometime during or after school. And in order to pin this on him, they had to have known that Danny left the dance early."

"He left the dance early?" Lacey asked curiously.

"Yeah, as soon as you left, he was all sad, so Cole took him home."

"Cole?" Lacey said questioningly, her eyes widening.

...

Danny was greeted by company of his own.

"Hey man, I heard about what happened. How are you holding up?"

"My arch enemy is dead, you would think this would be a happier moment." Danny joked, but he quickly realized he shouldn't be joking about death, especially one being investigated with him as the leading suspect, still, Cole thought it was funny.

"Coach called me and asked me to organize a vigil in his honor. Can you believe that? He wants us to honor that worthless piece of-"

"Hey, chill man. Archie may have been a raging jerk, but he was still a good soccer captain - an arrogant, misguiding, often corruptible one - but still a good captain."

"Yeah, one that poisoned me and let you take the blame for it," he said beneath his breath. Danny didn't hear him. Just then, the home phone rang, and Danny went to pick it up.

"Danny," he heard Jo's voice, "I'm with Lacey. Can you meet us at the fort? Like now," she asserted.

"On my way," he answered as he hung up the phone.

"I have to go," Danny started heading out of the door.

"Danny," Cole grabbed his arm. "You'll always have my back, right?" There was a quiver in his voice and a hint of terror in his eyes.

"Of course I will."

Danny led Cole out of his home, and he followed quickly thereafter.

...

"No, Cole wouldn't do something like this," Danny was repulsed by his friends' accusation.

"But he was the only one that knew you went home early." Jo said.

"Lacey added, "Yeah and he had every reason to be mad at Archie. Archie poisoned him."

"It wasn't Cole!" Danny shouted defensively. "You know what? Why even bother finding the culprit, we're not detectives."

"Danny, we just want to help." Lacey said sweetly.

"Yeah, it's not like you've made many friends with the Green Grove police. Who else is going to defend you." Jo immediately realized her comments were inappropriate. "Sorry." She squeaked, "I'll just be quiet now."

Danny fiddled with his fingers, and thought quietly to himself. "No, you're right. They're not going to believe me, but they're not going to believe either of you either. I just wish you guys would stay out of it," he said. "Jo, I don't want to put you through all that stress again. And Lacey, you shouldn't have to be the girlfriend of some sociopathic murderer. You deserve better than that. He looked at her with glassy eyes.

The room was filled with utter silence. Finally Jo spoke up softly, "Danny, Cole is our best lead. I'm not giving up on you." She walked out of the fort.

"Lacey," Danny grabbed her hand with care, "Promise me you won't do anything on my behalf that will get you into trouble." Lacey couldn't look at him. "Promise me," he insisted.

"I promise," she gave in. "But I can't bear the thought of losing you again."

"Hey, look at me," he pulled her chin up to him, forcing her to make eye contact. "You will never lose me," he assured her.

Lacey wrapped her arms tightly around him. "I love you. Danny, so much." She wept, her face buried in his chest.

Danny tightened his jaw, his eyes sharpened. He knew this would be the worst possible time to tell her that he may have to be sent to an insitution.


	13. You Only Live Once

**_I know you guys are used to my quick updates, sorry I haven't updated in a while. I have been pretty busy. I'm back at university, tons of work - blah blah. I don't have classes on Wedsnday's though so I will at least try to get a few chapters in a week. I want to finish this within the next week or so because I have other ideas I want to get in before the winter premier. Hope you guys enjoy. Read and review(:_**

Danny woke up to the pleasing aroma of mouth-watering chocolate chip pancakes fluffed to perfection, deliciously scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. Knowing that his mother had never been one to cook such elaborate meals, Danny grew in suspicion.

"Mother." He walked into the kitchen to find his mother sitting at the table, breakfast decked out in front of her while she was sipping on her morning coffee. "I see you cooked, who died now?" He asked blandly.

"No one died silly," she laughed. "I just, you know, don't get to cook as much as I like to," she explained.

"That's because you don't like to cook," Danny smiled ungenuinely. He scanned the room trying to find a sign of why his mother was in such great mood. His eyes wondered to the kitchen counter where he saw book, and read the title aloud. "Sociopaths for Dummies," now that sounds like an excellent read. Do you mind if I borrow it when you're done?" Danny spoke very casually masking his anger and frustration with dry humor. He flipped through some of the pages, and pulled out a brochure which was being used as a bookmark. "Sound Minds: Institution for the Mentally Unstable, he read. Sounds like a bit of a contradiction, don't you think?"

"Danny, I'm only considering the options. I have your best interest at heart."

"Right," he shrugged, "because having a mother treating me like I'm some nut case is really in my best interest."

"Danny I-"

"Save it, you know what? I don't even care anymore."

Karen sat back and sipped her coffee which she'd spiked with rum to ease the tension she had already prepared herself for. "Sit down. Have some breakfast." She spoke calmly.

"I'm not really hungry for your pity food." Danny remarked snidely.

Karen's voice grew louder and more stern. "Sit down and eat your breakfast!" Shocked by his mother's sudden aggression, Danny obeyed. "I could get sick and tired of cleaning up after your messes: getting you back into Green Grove after you, you know, did what you did to your Aunt Tara. Defending you in front of the school board when you were accused of poisoning another player, falsely confessing to a murder I didn't commit, only to protect you. Oh and-" she added, "when heartbreak Lacey tried to pry her way back in life, I sent her away, for you Danny."

Danny was now looking confused. "I didn't ask you to do any of that and what are you talking about with Lacey? She and I are still-"

"Oh." Karen realized she was rambling too much. "That's not the- the point is, I don't care what I have to do, no matter how crazy it may sound. To protect you, I will do it. And I know sending you to this institution may seem like I don't believe in you, but it's only because I don't want to see anything terrible happen to you, again. Somebody's after you Danny, obviously somebody that knows why you did what you did five years ago, and they're killing these other kids to make sure that you stay detained."

Danny sat quietly for a moment then walked over to where his mother was sitting to embrace her. "You're right." Karen smiled through the tears she had been holding back for too long. "But I have to fix this. Everything I love and care about is right here."

"Danny, I don't think this is something you can just fix. I can't even fix it, or I would. That's why I think it's best that you go-"

Danny cut his mother off, "I can try though. You always told me to exhaust every effort into doing what I know is right. I know I didn't do this. You know it, Lacey, Jo, even Chief Masterson knows. All I have to do is prove it. Just give me one day to prove my innocence, and I promise if I fail I will accept my fate at the cuckoo asylum."

"One day? Danny what are going to find in only one day?"

"Please mom." He pleaded with sad, hopeful eyes.

"Okay Danny, one day, but be careful please. I can't stomach the thought of losing you son. You're all I have." Karen broke into subtle tears.

Danny reached out to his mother with warm, comforting arms. He dried her tears with his hand and finished eating the breakfast she had prepared for him. When the moment was gone, and his mother headed off for work, Danny threw his backpack to the side. School wasn't on the agenda. He had other plans for the day.

...

Lacey was feeling uneasy about Danny not being at school, but she understood why he hadn't come. He could have at least called her though, right? She was beginning to worry. Danny had been acting so defeated lately; he was losing his confidence and charm. Lacey could not imagine being the suspect in a murder, two different murders, both in the same year. Danny had barely gotten to step foot back in Green Grove, and all of this was happening to him. It was just tragic, and unreal. She thought about what he said about not wanting her to get involved, that he could handle it himself, but Lacey knew that no person could handle this alone. She needed to talk to Cole.

"Cole!" Lacey called out to him after class. "Hey I wanted to talk to you about some things."

"Like?" Cole narrowed his eyes. He knew Lacey, mutually as she has been involved with more than one of his fellow soccer team mates, but the two of them had never really exchanged words.

Lacey had yet to formulate a plan as to how to approach him with her suspicions and realized simply asking him flat out whether he killed Archie or not would not be wise. She could have kicked herself for her impulsiveness of approaching him before she knew what she was going to say. "I uh," she looked down at his pants where his cell phone was slightly hanging out of his front pocket. "I was just wondering if you had Danny's home phone number. I mean since his cell phone was taken by the police," she reasoned.

"Um, yeah," he looked strangely at her then pulled out his phone to search for Danny's number. "I figured you'd know it by heart. You guys have known each other for so long."

"Yeah, well know, some things just slip your mind." She remarked casually, grabbing Cole's phone. Lacey scrambled to scroll through his recent text messages. There were several recent messages from a some of the guys on the soccer team asking if practice was cancelled because of the vigil for Archie. A few relatives expressed their condolences, and he had received a text from his mom asking what he wanted for dinner. Lacey kept scrolling until she found messages dated to the day of homecoming. She noticed he had received a text from Archie. It was a group message.

_Party's at my place. Cut the stupid dance and come rolling with the big shot. I got a couple of kegs, good music, no supervision. Definitely beats rocking to some corny pop music, and trying to find a place to make out with your date where Mr. Tang is not creepily watching nearby. See you all there._

Lacey gasped, had Cole attended that party the night Archie was murdered? Moreover, she wondered, why she was not invited, but that was irrelevent, she reminded herself. Clearing her throat, she exited out of his messages and pretended to transfer Danny's number into her cell phone. "Thanks," she quickly headed off.

Lacey was never one to cut class, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She texted Jo from the restroom at school.

_Jo, what class are you in now?_

It took only a few seconds for a reply.

_Study hall, why?_

_Meet me in the fort in five minutes, I just found out something major._

...

"Okay, so there was a party at Archie's house. Do we know if Cole actually went?"

Lacey sighed, "No, that's what we have to find out."

"Well did he respond to the message?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, let's think, who else could have been invited to that party?"

"I don't know, probably Sarita, Scott, some boys from the soccer team."

"Okay that's good," Jo said. "Maybe you could talk to Sarita, see if she can give us anything useful."

"Have you met Sarita?" Lacey said condescendingly. Sarita was already hateful and cruel by nature, and on top of that she was upset with Lacey for standing up for Danny at the diner. It also didn't help that Lacey had won homecoming queen over her.

"Well what about Scott?"

"Scott could be useful, but I'm sure he still hates me for calling him and Archie out about poisoning Cole. Although he only got like three days of suspension. Maybe you could talk to him."

"Me?" Jo asked in disbelief. "What would I even say to him?"

"I don't know just have a casual conversation. Tell him he looks good. Scott loves to have his ego stroked."

"What, so you want me to flirt with him? Have you seen me flirt with anyone...ever."

Lacey smirked, it was true, Jo was no master of seduction, but it also bothered her that Jo always sold herself short. "You could talk to him at the vigil tonight, casually. I'm sure he'll probably show up drunk so you won't have to say much to get him to spill on details."

"Okay," Jo said, still a little bit hesitant.

...

Danny rode the bus to Connecticut, traveling back to the apartment where the letter to Regina containing some cash and a note was addressed. Last time, he'd visited the apartment with Lacey and Jo who discovered that Danny's father was a resident there, and the letter had been sent from his address. This time Danny needed to get into that apartment. He wasn't sure what exactly he was looking for but hoped to find something, maybe a trace of evidence of who killed his father, because perhaps the three murders were connected. Danny picked the lock to apartment 413, a skill which he'd picked up during his time in juvie. He looked around the apartment which was still intact. He flicked on the light switch, which, to his surprise, illuminated the room with light, but Danny's dad had been dead for months. Somebody was still paying the electric bill, someone must have still been living there.

"Hello?" Danny greeted the silent apartment, but no one was there to reply. He proceeded to walk inside. It was a rather exclusive place, he wondered how long his father had been living there. Danny wandered around aimlessly, admiring the the elaborate design, and the well-refined artwork that decorated his late father's secret apartment. Danny found himself in what appeared to be Vikram's bedroom. An old picture of him and his dad was sitting in the nightstand. Danny glanced at it and smiled. In the picture he had just caught his first fish and was grinning from cheek to cheek, his father held up his thumb in approval.

Danny rambled through a desk beside the bed. He came across more photos, some of people he didn't recognize, and more of himself. Then he fumbled acrossed a picture of Regina. There were holes punctured all around the face of the photo, as if some had attacked the image with a pen. Danny also found a hand written letter signed by Regina:

_I still know what you did, and I'm not the only one. You're going to need more than a couple thousand dollars to shut me up. Really Vikram, I've bought bubble gum more expensive than that. Hmm, your precious little son should be released from juvie soon. I'm sure he'd be dying to know your little secret. If he looks anything like his father, he might just be able to get it out of me in bed. _

_Smooches,  
Regina_

Danny wrinkled his eyebrows. What secret was Regina threatening to expose? Their affair? But why would she want to tell him in bed that she was having an affair with his father? She said someone else knew, could that have been Archie? Danny remembered the video Regina had, displaying a rather odd closeness between the two. Maybe she had told Archie whatever secret she was supposed be keeping private. Maybe, he cringed at the thought, his father had killed both of them to keep them quiet. That would mean, Danny thought to himself, his father was still alive.

...

Meanwhile, Lacey and Jo showed up together at the vigil for Archie. Jo wore a pair of black slacks and a cream colored blouse that she'd borrowed from Lacey. Lacey was dressed in a simple, but classic black dress.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jo noticed Lacey's somber facial expression.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied.

"It's alright. I'm going to talk Scott and we're going to figure out who did this. Danny will be fine."

"Right," Lacey said weakly. Of course Danny was on her mind, and solving this for him, but she was also lamenting on her history with Archie. It wasn't all bad. In fact, most of it was good.

When they got inside of the auditorium, there was music blasting from the speakers, people were laughing and socializing as if Archie's death meant nothing. A group of boys loitered around the snack table, and a few people were even dancing on the stage. Lacey was repulsed.

"I'm gonna go find Scott." Jo said. Lacey watched as Jo tried to speak to Scott, but he couldn't hear her so he led her out of the auditorium. The music stopped as Cole got up to say a few words.

"Not all of you here tonight knew Archie, many of you probably didn't even like the guy," he joked. "And I'll be the first to admit that my former soccer captain was not really anyone to look up to." The crowd stood silently, reflecting on Cole's words as if he was delivering some profound message sent directly from God. "But one thing we all knew about Archie is that he loved to party!" He enthused. The crowed joined in, nodding and clapping their hands in agreement. "When he died, it was after that epic homecoming after party he threw." They cheered with enthusiasm. Cole held his finger up, he had clearly been drinking. "He was even named homecoming king." Cole picked up a fake crown that mimicked the one Archie would have received. "Long lives the king! Long lives the king!" He chanted and everyone else joined in. "Thank you," Cole said before stumbling off stage. The music started to play again:

Now she want a photo  
You already know though  
You only live once: that's the motto, YOLO  
We bout it every day, every day, every day

"What was that?" Lacey approached Cole. Cole just laughed.

"Don't go acting like you cared about him, you cheated on him. Archie deserved to die like that after the way he treated me and Danny, and pretty much everyone who's not in his circle of 'super cool, macho friends, Cole said using air quotes. "The guy's gone, who even cares?" Lacey stood silently. "Let's party! Cole threw his hands in the air." Lacey stood silently as he walked off.

"Lacey," she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. "Hey are you okay?" Justin was looking at her with concern.

"Yeah I'm fine."

"I know this must be rough for you. With you and Archie having-"

"I'm fine!" She insisted.

"Okay," he held up his hands apologetically.

Lacey sighed. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. It's just, everything with Danny," she trailed off.

"I get it. This has got to be stressful for you with Danny being a suspect and all, but you and Archie were close too, huh?"

She paused before giving a resonse. "Yeah, we were."

"Hey, if you ever need to talk to somebody. I'll do anything to help." He smiled. "I-I mean as a supportive friend, nothing else," he assured her.

Lacey returned with a smile. Unlike with her relationship with Danny, she felt no pressure opening up to Justin as a friend. He was so honest and understanding. She trusted him. "There is actually something I could use your help with. What do you know about that party at Archie's house?"


	14. The Promise

It was getting late. Lacey had invited Justin over to her house to discuss the details of Archie's party, who was invited, who could have been there, and whether or not Cole could have actually killed Archie.

"I didn't go, but I did get the text," Justin admitted. "I thought about going, but I was still kind of upset over-"

"Oh, right." Lacey suddenly felt badly for having ditched Justin at homecoming. They hadn't talked about it much, but he still seemed kind of sore from it.

"Why would you suspect Cole anyway? Cole is a decent guy."

"Because," Lacey explained, "Cole was angry with Archie for poisoning him."

"But that was a while back, right? Why would he have waited and killed him now? Plus he and Danny are friends, do you really think Cole would let Danny take the heat for something like this?"

Lacey groaned. He was right, as usual. She walked over to her bed and threw her hands over her face feeling defeated. "Danny is right, maybe I should just give up, let the police do their jobs, even if it means wrongly convicting an innocent guy."

"Hey," Justin sat down beside her. "We are going to find the guy that did this. For Archie, and Danny." He placed his hand around her shoulder and pulled close to him. Lacey never allowed herself to feel vulnerable in front of people, but she managed to shed a single tear. She pulled herself away from his arms, and Justin wiped the tear from her cheek and smiled.

Just then, they were alarmed by a loud thump.

"What the hell is going on here?" Danny questioned furiously as he climbed through Lacey's window.

"Danny!" Lacey exclaimed and jumped up. "It's not even like that."

"Yeah man, we were just talking." Justin threw up his hands.

"Talking?" Danny asked sarcastically. "Talking about what? About how comfortable your bed is? Or how you'd like to screw each other on top of it?" He scorned.

Lacey stood speechless.

"Don't talk to her like that-" Justin jumped in Lacey's defense.

"You don't talk at all!" Danny scolded.

"Whatever man, I'm out of here." Justin headed out of the door. "Lacey I'll call you."

"The hell if you will," Danny barked back.

Justin shut the door behind him. Lacey still stood in silence, boiling with anger, but trying to maintain her composure for the sake of their new and fragile relationship.

She spoke slowly and calmly. What -the hell -was that? She demanded an explanation.

"I'm sorry Lacey, I shouldn't have blown up like that." Danny rubbed his eyes. "I had a rough day."

"I'm sorry Lacey?" She said quoting him, "I had a rough day? So what? You accuse me of trying to sleep with someone?"

"I didn't mean to-" he tried to convey but she would not allow him to speak.

"You don't think I had a rough day Danny? I just had to attend a ceremony that was supposed to be honoring my ex boyfriend. But nobody else cared, or even seemed to be an ounce of mournful except me, but I couldn't even express that, because I was too busy chasing around Cole to see what else he knew about the party so that I can help clear your name!"

"What party? You went behind my back? Lacey I told you to stay out of it!" Lacey didn't understand why Danny was yelling at her when she was only trying to help.

"Don't you flip this on me. While you were at home sulking all day, I found out that Archie had held a party on the night of homecoming, the night that he died. Cole was invited to that party, so were a lot of other-"

"Cole has nothing to do with this Lacey! My god!" He scram and then looked at Lacey who was on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry." He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry." He said again. "I shouldn't have accused you of doing anything with Justin. I know you would never-"

"Are you sure Danny?" Her voice broke. "I mean, I did cheat on Archie." She broke free from his arms.

"That's different, we-." He couldn't think of a reasonable explanation for the way they behaved while she and Archie were still together. "We only kissed like two times, and the second time was all me." He offered.

"Like that makes it better." She gloomily sat back down on her bed. Danny sat down beside her, placing his hand on her knee.

"It wasn't even your fault, I came on to you. I shouldn't have."

"I shouldn't have given in," she replied weakly.

"The past is in the past." He assured her. "I don't judge you for it."

"You should know by now Danny, the past is never stays in the past."

Danny took a few moments to process the magnitude of what she had just said to him. She was right. He finally formed a response. "But we can't change it. We can only learn from it." Changing the subject, he finally asked, "What was sparkly tooth, Mr. Perfect doing here? If you don't mind me asking."

Lacey chuckled, she couldn't have thought of a better way to describe Justin. "He uh, was just trying to help me figure things out. He doesn't think Cole had anything to do with it either."

"Oh." Danny grabbed her by the hand. "Lacey, I've been meaning to tell you something." He paused, thinking about his promise to his mother, which he had failed to uphold. That meant, to the psychiatric hospital he would go. Danny's search wasn't an entire loss though, he speculated that his father was still alive, but if he was the one responsible for all this, it was unlikely that anyone would believe it, especially without a trace that Vikram was still living. Danny knew if he told Lacey these things she would try to track down his father to prove his innocence, and if the man was as dangerous as he suspected, Lacey would end up getting hurt if not killed.

"What?" Lacey asked, "You said you've been meaning to tell me something."

"Right, I've been meaning to tell you that I um, I'm going to be sent away for a while." He started.

"What? Where to?"

"To Arizona," Danny said abruptly immedietly regretting his decision to lie to her. "My mother thinks it would be best if I got away for a while, just until things clear up."

"But-" Lacey's face grew warm, she was fighting every urge in her body to not cry in front of him. She knew all of this had to be hard for Danny, and she wanted to be strong for him. "What about us?" Was all she could muster to say. She looked down, trying to hide her moist eyes that were sure to bear a stream of tears if she looked at him.

"It's only going to be for a little while." He scooted over closer to her. "You and me," he held her chin up, "we're forever."

"You promise Danny? You promise you'll come back to me, right?"

"Of course," Danny didn't know what possessed him to make such a lofty promise. It was not guaranteed that he would ever be released from the institution, especially if Archie's murder was never resolved. He looked deeply into her eyes intensely and then whispered softly into her ear. "I promise."

Danny bit down gently on the outside of her ear and licked a trail along the side of her neck. He unbuttoned her dress to reveal a black lace bra. And then stroked its contents with one hand while his other hand traveled along her thighs in search of the garments that covered his destination. When he found him, he slid them off of her. Gasping breathlessly, Danny threw her panties to the side and hurried to rid himself of his clothing as well. Lacey helped, to expedite the process. When he finished, Danny fell down on top of her. He sucked on her nipples until they were wet, sensitive, and hard. From there, there was not an inch of her he didn't taste. From the tip of her lips, the curve of her waist, and the dampness of her womanhood. Lacey moaned in response as he finally eased his way inside of her.

When they were finished, Lacey fell asleep in her lover's arms. He held her until he was certain that she would not awake. Then in the middle of the night rolled her over and planted a kiss on her forehead before retrieving his clothing and leaving. "Goodbye Lacey, he whispered to her as she slumbered. With that, he was gone.


	15. Author's Note

**_I have a quick question does anyone like the character Justin? I know I've kind of shoved him to the side in favor of a deeper Lacey/Danny storyline, but I actually like him, and I liked him with Lacey. Anyway, I have some interesting things I'd like to explore with the character, and I was just wondering how you guys felt about him. Well, I'm hard at work on the next few chapters, expect an update by Wednesday. _**


	16. Out of my System

**Hey guys. I promised you a few chapters by tomorrow, and like I said I've been working on them, still not completely satisfied yet. This is just a little something that I thought I would add today. It's really just about Lacey's feelings, Danny's gone, how will she handle it? Tune in for more. And keep writing reviews! Those really keep me going! Enjoy.(:**

Lacey woke up longing to feel Danny's warm body next to hers, but sadly he was not there when she awoke. It was dreadful what was happening to him. Lacey and Danny were barely given a chance to allow their relationship to blossom and now he was moving to the other side of the country. She knew that Danny wanted last night to be special, a physical profession of his love for her, and it was just that. But it only made saying goodbye to him all the more difficult. She smiled in reminiscence of their late night festivities. Danny was too good for it to have been his first time. He seemed to really know what he was doing, or maybe it was just the passion of the moment, the way they both knew each other. It was as if that closeness, the vulnerability of basking in one another's nakedness and sharing something so valued, so concealed, it was effortless with him. Lacey, lying there in her bed for several moments, pondered the complexity of their relationship. But she remembered Danny's promise to her. She wanted to have the confidence to believe him when he said he would come back to her, but she could not ignore the overwhelming doubt that lingered in the back of her mind. What if he never came back?

Lacey had to physically drag herself out of bed that morning. She had to be at school early to make up a quiz that she had missed when she cut class to meet up with Jo to discuss her suspicions of Cole. She did not get overly dressed, nor did she put on a lot of make up. Perfecting her outward appearance seemed to be a colossal waste of time and energy considering the way she was feeling.

When Lacey arrived at the school, she noticed that Cole was already there too. He was sitting at a desk in one of the classrooms, with the lights turned off, just staring blankly ahead, at nothing in particular. Lacey was just walking by, but when she saw Cole she stopped, and went back to talk to him.

"Hey, what are you doing here so early?" She squinted. Cole's eyes were blood-shot, and his hair was in disarray. Much like her, he had not bothered to put much effort into his appearance either.

Cole put his hand over his mouth, and took a moment before giving a response. "I killed him." He said softly, never looking up at her.

"Killed who Cole? What are you talking about?" Lacey shifted on her feet.

"Archie," he inhaled. "I killed Archie."

Lacey did not know what to say. Was this an actual confession or was Cole holding another burden? "Come on, I know you didn't kill him." She sat down at the desk beside him. "Cole you're a genuine, sweet, caring guy. You could never do something so-"

"Yes I could have!" His voice rose anruptly.

There was silence between them.

"I held a grudge against Archie for what he did to me. He tried to apologize, but I told him to go to hell." He paused, resenting himself for the words he would say next. "I went to his party, only to give him his crown, since I had accepted it in his honor, and he invited me to stay, but I told him-" Lacey heard Cole's voice break, tears started to swell in his eyes. "I told him, 'kill yourself, nobody likes a jackass' and a few days later, I found out he was dead." Cole began weeping uncontrollably.

Lacey rushed over to hug him.

"He was my captain, I should have respected my captain," he cried.

"It's okay Cole. Listen, you didn't kill Archie. Okay?" She was on the verge of tears herself. "What Archie did to you was a terrible thing. You could have fought him, or planned to seek revenge against him, or anything, but you didn't, because that's the kind of person that you are." Cole's tears started to die down. "You have so much integrity, and I mean that." She really did mean it. All of Lacey's prior suspicions of him now seemed remote, and foolish of her. She knew even then that Cole had not done it, but was just desperate to solve the case for Danny.

Lacey continued, "Archie would be proud of you as the new captain of the soccer team. I know your last interaction with him wasn't your best, but Archie knew you. He knew the kind of guy you are, and he knew that you would never dishonor him, or the team."

"Thank you Lacey." Cole dried his tears. He exhaled deeply. "And I know that this must be difficult for you too." Lacey looked down. He grabbed her hand, seeing that she too needed to be comforted. "It's not disrespecting Danny if you cry over Archie." She refused to look at him. "You guys had a really great relationship at one time. I know you always try to be strong, but you've got to be hurting too." Lacey was fighting back the tears. "Lacey, you loved him," Cole said finally. "It may not have been as strong as the love you have for Danny, but you loved him, and that's okay."

Lacey nodded her head silently, the tears started to form themselves despite her attempts to withhold them.

"Just get it out of your system."

Lacey finally allowed the tears to stream down her cheeks. Like a rushing river, they jetted from her eyes. All this time she had been trying to be strong for Danny, and strong for herself, that she neglected the inevitable feeling of grief and mourning. Her uneasiness about Danny being gone was partly because she was trying to digest the fact that Archie was gone forever, so she projected the false feeling that Danny would be too.

And Lacey cried, and she cried as if no one was watching. And in her moment of sadness, she never felt more relieved.


	17. White Walls

"See, this isn't so bad!" Danny's mother helped him get settled into his room at Sound Minds: Institution for the Mentally Unstable.

"Yeah," he replied sarcastically. "If these white walls could talk-"

"Well then you would really be crazy," Karen joked. Danny just glared at her, clearly unamused.

"Look at this way honey, you've got plenty of time to relax. I mean you don't have to worry about going to prison." She said optimistically.

"As if this isn't a prison for the mind," he said condescendingly.

"Well you get three phone calls a day, you could call Lacey. And you have visiting hours, maybe she could even come and see you."

"No mother, Lacey can't know that I'm here." He spoke firmly.

"Oh Danny, you didn't tell her? What about Jo? "Danny looked away guiltily. "You told Jo but you didn't tell Lacey? Danny she's your girlfriend. You can't keep this from her."

"I told her I was going away, that I would be back soon." He said the latter part under his breath.

"Soon?"

"Look, I didn't have a choice, Lacey would be crushed if she knew. She would try to-"

"What, she would try to understand? She would try to be patient, and support you through these tough times? Danny she can only understand if you tell her."

"I can't, mother I can't! It's not that simple."

"Okay, but if she were to find out?"

"She won't!" Danny replied defensively.

"Well what if you don't get out of here as soon as we hope? You can't keep lying to her. The distance is hard enough as it is, but to go without any contact at all? Indefinitely? Danny, you're only hurting her by being dishonest. And that's no way to start a relationship."

Danny sighed, lately his mother had been making a lot of sense, but he remembered why he was lying to Lacey in the first place. It was not because he did not think she could handle it, but because of what he had found in Connecticut. If Lacey started looking around for Danny's dad, if she knew he may still be alive, she would go diving into a pool filled with sharks. Danny did not want to put her life in jeopardy. He knew that although they had found his phone at the scene of the crime, they still did not have enough evidence to pin this on him, and if he wasn't going to be charged with this murder, then he would have to be released, or at least he would have that option. Danny hadn't planned on telling Jo, but her dad being, the Chief of Police, Jo overheard her parents talking about the possibility of a potential suspect of a murder being sent to a psychiatric hospital. Jo approached him about it, so confirmed it was him, but he swore her to secrecy.

"Mom?" Karen was preparing to leave when her son spoke up. "What was your relationship like with dad all those years when I was in juvie?"

Karen was caught off guard by her son's question. "It was a little tense, to be honest. He was uh, always out, somewhere. Business trips, meetings. A very busy man." She forced a smile.

"Did he ever do anything to make you question his character?" He asked meekly.

Karen quickly took offense. "You know how hard it was for me to lose your father!"

"I'm sorry mother I-"

"No!" Karen cut him off quickly. "Regardless of the things he did. Your father was a good man, and he loved you, he loved us both."

"I know, I know." Danny hugged his mother. He knew better than to ask, but wondered what she meant when she said 'regardless of the things he did.' Just then a nurse popped in, instructing Karen to say her final goodbyes.

When she was gone, Danny was left staring at himself through the blank white walls that entrapped him. He looked around in his room. It was small, and plain. One bed and one chair, there was not much to it. There wasn't even a window for him to look out of. In the small confines of his new dwelling place, Danny felt powerless, and defeated, like there was nothing he could do to help himself, and nothing he could do to be there for Lacey. Suddenly, Danny became angry. He threw his chair against the wall, and watched slam against the panels, unbroken. The realization of where he was along with the anxiety of knowing that his father may be alive and dangerous, his mother was alone, Lacey was alone and he was still being investigated for another murder. Danny momentarily stopped breathing, but he couldn't stop moving. He paced back and forth, and rubbed his clammy hands together. Suddenly the same nurse came back into his room.

"There's a group session about to start in the conference room. It's optional, but highly recommended."

The last thing Danny wanted to do was sit around listening to the clinically insane or depressed spew out their feelings, but he looked around at what felt to him like a prison cell, and decided anything would be less excruciating than this. So he opted to go to the group session.

There were other boys there that appeared to be Danny's age, some looked older, some younger. They were all gathered in a circle, waiting for the session to begin. Danny sat in the empty seat next to a little boy who could have been no more than ten years old. The boy had fair skin and big golden brown eyes. He wore a genuine smile, with a slight overbite, his doe eyes staring directly at Danny as he sat down. Danny felt strangely uncomfortable in the boy's presence.

"Um hi." Danny spoke first, the little boy didn't say anything. "What are you in here for?" He asked curiously.

The little boy smiled even harder than before, as if his reason for being institutionalized was a pleasant memory. "I was just playing Call of Duty" he shrugged. "And my mom told me I had to go to school." He wrinkled his face in thought. "I really didn't want to go to school that day, but i washed up, and got dressed anyway. Then I went down to the kitchen to eat breakfast - she made toast, and Cherrios! Anyway, found a knife on the counter, and I stabbed her with it thirteen times! The end," he enthused, overly proud of himself. Danny's eyes widened, he shrieked quietly. The boy on the right side of him laughed.

"That's Robbie, pathological liar and kleptomaniac." Robbie waved a picture of Danny, Lacey, and Jo in front of his face proudly. Danny had just had that picture in his pocket moments before.

"How did you?" He looked dumbfounded and puzzled.

"It's a gift." The boy smiled and handed Danny back his photo.

"I'm Marcus by the way," the relatively thin, black young man extended his hand. Danny returned a reciprocating gesture.

"Danny."

"So. Danny, what brings you here?"

"Ah yes, we can start by sharing," the leader of the group finally arrived and sat down. "Daniel Desai, is it?" He looked down at his clipboard.

"Uh, yes."

"Why don't you tell us where you're from. What brings you here?"

"Oh, I just heard how cool this place was, and I just wanted to check it out." Danny let out a quick laugh, but noticed that the other boys were not amused. He cleared his throat. "No, I, I uh, killed my aunt when I was eleven." Danny realized how deranged that made him sound, and wondered if he was the only person in the room that had killed someone. He paused before continuing. "I went to juvie for five years and when I came out, literally the day I came out, a girl was murdered, and of course I was the immediate suspect. Anyway as time went on, I was cleared for that, but the murder was never fully resolved. Then just recently, another guy got killed, and no shocker, I am a suspect again." He sighed. "If I'm found guilty, at least I can plea insanity." He chuckled in place of the of the pain he was feeling.

The moderator, along with some of the other patients looked at Danny empathetically.

"A sociopath. That's what they call me." He licked his lips then sat back in his seat. The others took turns sharing why they were there, and how they were doing better. When the session was over Marcus caught up with Danny.

"You're not a sociopath. And you didn't kill those people, did you?"

"What makes you think-"

"My mother was a sociopath," he said understandingly. "And she killed my father, and two little sisters." He looked down remorsefully. "And she tried to kill me. It was all during one of her episodes. Sometimes she showed extreme anger. She wasn't crazy all the time, but she was never warm, never caring or nurturing. I don't think she ever once told us she loved us. But she did cook, she cleaned, she spoiled us on our birthday's and Christmas, like any other mother. And everyone loved her, she was very charismatic. For years she seemed normal besides the detachment." He inhaled deeply. "Apparently she married my father for his money, he was a big shot attorney. So she bore his children, played the role of a mother and wife, then planned to make off with it all, the house, his legacy, everything. My father had a really large life insurance policy, she could have gotten a lot of money." He went off into his thoughts.

"How did you get away?"

"After she hung my dad in the coat closet, she started running water in the bathtub. I was seven, my sisters, they were twins, both three years old." He gulped. "She called us in one by one to bathe, and when she called my name, I just felt something peculiar. I ran into my sisters' room, but they weren't in there. So I ran to the the closet to hide and that's when I saw my dad hanging, lifeless. I took off running out of the house, never looking back." His voice grew softer, signaling the end of the story was near. "I wound up at a neighbor's house, and she called the police, and that was the end of that."

"Okay, so your mother had some...issues. That doesn't explain why you're here." Danny asserted.

"Anxiety, trauma, I've attempted suicide nine times."

"Oh wow." Danny was too stunned to say much more.

"Yeah," Marcus replied, "This place is great for people like me, people who really need help. But if you're not already distressed, it will make you insane."

Danny lamented on those words even as he returned to his empty, solemn room. He stared once again at the white walls that signified his emptiness his voidness, and his innocence.


	18. You Say He's Just a Friend

Justin looked over at Lacey who had barely been eating her lunch. It was a Saturday, and it had been weeks since Danny moved to Arizona. Justin brought her to Johnny Cakes because it was her favorite place to eat, hoping to cheer her up.

"When you texted me, I thought you maybe wanted to talk or something. You haven't said a word to me. Are you even going to eat?"

"I'm sorry, Justin you're right. Phoebe's out of town, and Jo is over at Rico's working on a project. I just didn't know who else to call."

He grabbed her by the hand. "And I'm glad you called on me. I just hate seeing you down like this."

Lacey sat silently for a moment, she finally spoke up,"Archie's funeral is coming up soon."

"Yeah," he said softly, trying to empathize with her.

"Don't you think it's strange that they haven't identified any suspects? Or found any evidence besides Danny's phone being there, and that clearly wasn't enough to convict him or he would be in custody by now-"

"Lacey please, don't stress yourself about it. You just have to accept that this is the way things are right now. I'm sure Danny will be fine in- Where did you say he was going?"

"Arizona."

"Right. Wait, why Arizona?"

"To live with his grandma."

"Oh, well I'm sure he's thinking about you." He added hopefully.

"Yeah, well he hasn't even called." Lacey replied sadly.

"Well it's only been a week, maybe he's having a hard time adjusting to missing you too. As pretty as you are? He'd be crazy not to miss you." Justin casually flirted with her, but she knew it was harmless. He was just a flirtatious guy, he didn't mean anything by it. "Look, maybe you should reach out to him. I'll even go with you." He added.

"All the way to Arizona?" Lacey asked doubtfully.

"No, I'd drive you to the airport, then take off." They both laughed.

Lacey sighed, "But I could ask Mrs. Desai for his grandmother's number, that way I could at least call him."

"That's a more subtle a start." He joked, "You're going to be okay." Justin was looking intensly into her eyes. "I promise."

Lacey smiled, it wasn't a genuine smile, but it was her first in days.

"Now, my lady, allow me to escort you out of here, and we'll continue our chat elsewhere," Justin stood up and reached for her hands. Lacey just looked at him and squinted her eyes. He could be so corny sometimes. "Come on." He threw his arm around her in a friendly manner when she finally stood up. Lacey allowed Justin to wrap his arm around her, it was comforting, just being around him. She was happy to have him as a friend.

As they were heading out of the diner, they bumped into Jo and Rico.

"Jo, Rico, hey." Lacey greeted them, now wearing the biggest grin she'd worn in weeks. "I thought you guys had a big project to finish."

"We do," Rico spoke up. "We just came by to get some brain food. Well pie is not exactly a mind stimulating dessert, but it is yummy." Rico flashed a giddy grin, which faded when he that no one else seemed amused by his attempted humor.

"Rico, did you ever find your 'red jacket'? Lacey teased.

"What?" He looked confused. "Oh, my red jacket." Rico remembered the lie he and Jo told to get Lacey in the boys locker room alone with Danny. "Yeah, I never could find it. I guess the guy burned it. Bullies." He rolled then walked up to the register to place an order.

"Lacey can I talk to you, alone?" Jo looked over at Justin who was standing patiently.

"Sure what's up Jo?" Jo had been really distant since Danny left, Lacey wondered if it was just her way of trying to cope with him being gone again. She remembered how depressed Jo had gotten when he left before, and figured the same feelings had resurfaced.

"What are you doing with him?" She looked over at Justin, who had walked over to talk to some people from school who were sitting in one of the booths.

"He's cool, he's a really good friend."

"Are you sure about that Lacey?"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, I just don't believe he wants to be just friends with you, that's all. And I just get a weird feeling about that guy, he's too nice. Nobody is that nice, especially to someone who broke their heart. No offense Lacey, but that wasn't too long ago."

"Well some people are mature, genuine human beings. If you weren't so judgmental, of everyone, maybe you could make more friends." Lacey snapped.

"Oh I'm judgmental? I'm judgmental? That sounds like a lot of judgment coming from a person who tried to hide their relationship so that her shallow little friends wouldn't know she was dating the 'Socio.'

Jo had crossed a line. "Whatever." Lacey grabbed her purse and motioned for Justin that she was ready to leave.

"Lacey I'm sorry-"

"No!" She rejected her apology. "Come on Justin, let's get out of here.

...

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." Justin had her to close her eyes and cover them with her hands the entire time he was driving to their mystery destination. Lacey opened her eyes to see that they were in a wooded area. In the middle of no where.

"What did you bring me out here to kill me?" She joked. Justin laughed as he walked over to his car to retrieve something from the trunk. He came back with a gun.

Lacey's eyes grew large.

"Relax," he smiled, observing Lacey's facial expression. "It's a paint gun." When I get, mad or, frusterated, sometimes I like to come out here and blow off some steam.

"So what do you shoot?" Lacey asked, interested.

"Eh, trees, maybe a bird or two."

"Justin, am disappointed in you, that's animal cruelty," Lacey joked.

"Yeah, well it's something me and my dad used to do. He always wanted to hunt, but my mom wasn't too fond of the idea."

Lacey realized she didn't know much about his home life.

"Do you still do things like this with him?" She asked out of curiosity.

"Nah, the bastard took off."

"I'm sorry," Lacey felt bad that she'd asked.

"I'm not," he shrugged." He handed her the gun. "Wanna try?"

"Okay," Lacey grabbed the paint ball gun cautiously. "What do I do? I just-" she pointed the paint gun downwards as she tried to figure it out. Justin started to approach her to show her how it worked but she figured it out, accidentally shooting him in the groin area.

Justin's eyes grew large, yellow paint marked the center of his pants. He grabbed himself. "It's okay," he squealed in pain.

Lacey couldn't help but to laugh. She was laughing hysterically, tears even started to leak from her eyes. "Oh my gosh, Justin I am so sorry." She tried to regain her composure.

"Really? You look sorry." He said sarcastically as he watched her start giggling again. "Well then, this means war." He grabbed the gun from her hands and smiled playfully threatening. Lacey took off running, Justin trailed behind her, still cupping his privates. Lacey darted into the woods running as quickly as she could.

She was surrounded by trees, and tripped over some branches. As she fell to the ground, Lacey heard a noise in the slight distance. She saw something move quickly. The figure was black from behind, and ran on two feet. It was a person. "Justin?" She called out' but he was too far behind to have heard her. She felt like she was being watched, and she looked over her shoulder, but didn't see anything.

Justin finally caught up to her, he was running out of breath. "Woman, you ought to be a track star." He looked at Lacey who was still lying on the ground. What's the matter?"

"Nothing, I just fell." Lacey brushed herself off and stood up.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You okay?" He reached out to help her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She forced a smile. "Can we get out of here?"

"Of course," Justin dusted the remainer of dirt off of her pants, and helped to the car.

Lacey looked back into the woods, with curiosity and discomfort.

**Okay, so that's it for this week. Do you guys think Justin is only trying to win Lacey back now that Danny is gone? Or do you think he's a genuine guy and a good friend to her? Also, what or who was in the woods? And will Lacey try to contact Danny? I don't know. Thanks for reading. More to come soon!**


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